UVA Visit

We are finally home after our overnight to UVA.  We are so thankful to report that David's scan was CLEAN!!!!  We praise God for this wonderful news that will buy our family three more months of "normal" family life.  Poor David was so sick last summer that he missed out on all the summer fun, so we are excited to have some sunshine fun this summer. 

David handled the sedation for his CT scan well today. It seemed to take longer than usual, but it is a long process for a scan that only lasts a few minutes. He has to have a bolus of fluid to pre-hydrate his kidney, then he gets the contrast dye via IV which takes a while.  He was gone from us for almost three hours.  I wish I could say this whole process gets easier, but it simply does not.

We left Thursday night to head to Charlottesville because a local Walmart was having a fun fair for Children's Miracle Network.  We got there before it rained so David could have some fun.  Mike also personally thanked the Walmart employees who help raise money for UVA children's hospital through the balloon campaign.  Walmart employees have been enthusiastic supporters of Children's Miracle Network and have raised many thousands of dollars to support the kids at UVA hospital.

David also had fun hanging out with another Miracle Child, Savannah.  She is precious with these sweet little blonde curls. 

David loved all over her-it was so sweet!  I enjoy meeting other Miracle Families because though their journey has been a little different, we have UVA children's hospital in common.  We have all had sick children fighting for their lives within the walls of that amazing hospital.  We are so honored to be included in the group of Miracle Families. 

No trip to clinic is complete without David giving Dr. Belyea a checkup.  They have their little routine down where David listens to Dr. B's heart, while he checks out David.  We love the entire staff at clinic and it is always so nice to visit with our UVA "family" while we are there. 

This evening we are praising God for the good news from todays visit to UVA.  It was a long ride home as we anxiously await the news from the scans, but we both were at peace.  We trust in God's plan for our family and we know that whether the news was good or bad today, He would with us.  God is the reason that we can have peace on these yucky scan days.  Thank you to all who texted, messaged, emailed and most importantly prayed for our Rockstar today. 

Mother's Day Weekend 2013

This weekend has been awesome.  We have had fun adventures, church, and lots of rest and downtime.  I am a truly blessed and rested woman. 

Yesterday Mike and Kyle went to a travel ball tournament for Kyle.  I was sad to miss it, but we had tickets to Princess on Ice!  Our sweet little friend Sydney was turning three so a group of us went to watch this amazing show for her birthday.  Hope was so excited and she chose her Belle costume to wear.  She wanted her hair done, makeup on, and she even requested some glitter spray for her hair. 

This picture makes me belly laugh, because Hope was trying to master the "princess pose" and David was trying to make her laugh.  David was just as excited about our day as she was. 

The show was put on by Disney and so of course it was magnificent.  It was over two hours which is a long time for little ones, but all of our kids were glued.  Here is princess tiana kissing the frog. 

Mickey and Minnie were there too of course, and it was so exciting!  My two are going to love disney this summer!!! 

Beautiful Cinderella in her carriage. 

Hope and Sydney!  Sydney is hilarious and she made me laugh all day long.  "Bring it on Grandpa" is hilarious coming out of a three year olds mouth! After a stressful week last week, spending the day with friends laughing and watching a magical show was perfect. 

David LOVED the show and Belle (our favorite princess) did not come out until the Grand Finale and I happened to catch his expression when Belle and the Prince came out. 

Cancer stinks but it has made me enjoy the precious moments of life even more.  I got very teary-eyed yesterday when Rapunzel and Flynn sang I See the Light and my very own little beautiful princess was sitting on my lap belting it out.  The last year and a half has had it share of drama, trauma, and stress, but yesterday surrounded by friends and watching this magical show overwhelmed me in happiness. 

No Disney show is complete without Mickey and Minnie! 

The highlight of the show for my two-Belle!!!! 

During the finale all the princess were on stage dancing with their princes, and Belle happened to be right in front of us.  My shy little girl started shouting "Belle" trying to get her attention to wave at her.  Oh Disney is going to be so exciting this summer!! 

Fireworks at the end. 

When we came home there was a huge storm.  After the storm we looked out and saw this beautiful and vibrant rainbow.  This is scan week coming up and to see such a visible reminder of God's promises will carry me through this stressful week.  Scan weeks make me want to throw up worrying if David has relapsed, but God is faithful and his promises are true. 

As we were taking pictures of the rainbow, I got this picture on my phone.  Kyle and his travel ball team won the tournament championship!!!  This is a first for Kyle and he was so excited. 

Today on this Mother's Day I thank God for the downtime that we have had today.  My favorite present today was the two hour nap that I got while Mike took the kids outside to play. 

I thank God for the three babies that I was blessed to birth and raise.  Motherhood has not always been the easiest road (whoever would think that their baby would fight childhood cancer?) but God has used motherhood to teach me about Him.  This control freak Momma needs to be reminded that I can do nothing without Him and that He loves my babies even more than I do. 

We covet your prayers for this Friday.  We will head to UVA Thursday evening to we can be at the hospital by 7 a.m. on Friday.  These scans never get easier, but we know from experience that God will indeed meet us there.  Happy Mother's Day!

Week in Pictures and Motherhood

I do not think I have ever gone this long without updating the blog.  This week has been brutal but with many fun and bright spots along the way.  Mike was out of town earlier in the week.  The kids were good, but I always breathe a sigh of relief when Mike returns from a conference. 

The exciting news in our house is that David is finally a bike rider!  Woot woot!  The pedaling concept is a huge one for him and this is an exciting milestone for him to reach.  I think from looking at this picture he needs a bigger bike and of course we still need the training wheels but for now we are THRILLED that the pedaling concept is under our belt. 

Of course this little princess is too a bike rider and girlfriend can pedal those sweet little legs of hers!  I love it!  If the weather would ever cooperate, I want to take the kids to Hungry Mother for a bike ride. 

When I picked David up from school the other day he got in the car with flowers for me.  He looked so precious and proud holding those flowers at parent pickup.  He melts my heart.

The other night while Mike was gone Ashley and I took the kids to the mall to eat, get new glasses for David, and to bounce.  Kyle is almost too big to jump now, but he was so sweet helping Hope and David.  I love seeing my kids enjoying being together.  They fuss and fight like all kids, but they really do love each other.

Hope is still loving her gymnastics and she tells us that it is making her strong!  We just signed on for more classes because she loves it so much!!Here she is swinging on the big rope.  Gymnastics has helped her confidence so much. 

This morning at preschool we had a Mother's Day tea for the moms.  It was so sweet.  The children escorted their moms to their seats, they shared a special snack with them, they entertained them with songs, and then they presented a cookbook to them made by our class.  I knew we would be too busy to get a good picture at preschool, so Kyle took a picture of me and my sweet preschooler together.

Hope and some of her preschool friends.  The children were so excited to surprise their Moms with all the goodies we had worked hard on.  We did a little questionaire with the kids asking them questions about their Moms. Here is how Hope answered:

 

Mommy's favorite color is  pink.

My Mommy loves to eat lasagna.

My Mommy is a lot feet tall and weighs 20 pounds.

I love it when my Mommy plays with me.

Mommy's favorite thing to do is to clean.

 

Cleaning?  really? Bless her heart.  Right now I love to get together with friends to run or to watch Grey's Anatomy on Netflix:) 

 

 

I love that I get to spend my mornings with my sweet little preschooler and her friends each day. 

 

This weekend I am excited to celebrate being a Mom.  Motherhood has certainly had its challenges for me but I am so thankful that God blessed me with three little loves.  I am a blessed woman.